Quinn
by Motsie of Atlantis
Summary: The story of Michelle Goodman, (CIA codename, Quinn) the woman who had Sam Hanna's back (and other parts of his body) in ways that his partner never could.


**Quinn**

**A/N: This is a prolog, setting the scene for Michelle's birth and childhood. At the proper time, Sam, Hetty, and other members of OSP will appear, to fill in the backstory of the life of this CIA operative who became Mrs. Sam Hanna.**

**A/N2: This is a WIP and will be updated only when I can feel that the update is something I can live with, but it will be completed.**

**Disclaimer:** The characters and sets of NCIS:LA are all owned by CBS, Donald P. Bellisario, and Shane Brennan. I only own a copy of the DVDs from season 1-4. I do get to play with everyone, but they all have to be home by curfew.

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Corporal Russell Goodman, Michelle's future father, always the practical man, enlisted in the Marines before he was drafted as Vietnam Army cannon fodder. In basic training, his ability with anything mechanical got him into the Bell Helicopter and Lycoming engine training courses and was qualified to work on the new Bell HU-1Bs. The military name had been the Iroquois, but so many people were calling them Hueys after the first military Designator HU-1E (a HU-1B modified to meet Marine requirements) that even Bell decided to make the unofficial designation the regular name.

Russell had been posted at the Phu Bai Air base, just south of the central city of Hue in early 1964 as part of "The War Against Communist Aggression". He was one of the Marine mechanics that kept the birds flying and fighting. The middle of February of that year one of the pilots of a Huey gunship was hit and the bird he was flying received a hit to the hydraulics and went down. Since this was only a hundred klicks from camp, Russell was ordered to board a slick, fly in with the replacement crew and patch the hydraulics to get the bird ready to fly back to base. He was just finishing up the repair and was buttoning up the chopper, when a mortar shell exploded nearby, sending shrapnel into his back. The crew hauled him into the chopper, as their accompanying gun ship tore up the jungle where they thought the attack originated. Either their guess was good and they killed the enemy, or the attacker simply melted back into the jungle as their target took off.

In the air they saw that Russell's wounds were not good. They stabilized him as they radioed back to base to find out where the best place would be for them to land for him to get treated – instead of coming back to base they were ordered to take him directly to the naval hospital at DaNang.

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Charlotte Johnson had signed up for the Naval ROTC program at Purdue University to help pay for her nursing education. With three younger siblings, she tried to do everything she could not to be a financial burden to her parents. After weighing all her options, she decided that this was the best way to help her family. Following her graduation and commissioning, Charlotte served two years of active duty at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. and the Naval Hospital Okinawa, prior to her service in Vietnam. She spent one week the hospital ship, the U.S.S. Sanctuary, and then was transferred to the base hospital at DaNang.

She met Russell after he had been brought in wounded while trying to repair a helicopter that had been shot down near the front lines. She could never pin point a reason why she was attracted to him, perhaps it was just her adventurous nature. But she found herself anxiously waiting for the time when she would be on the ward, caring for him. They spent a lot of late nights talking, slowly getting to know each other.

After he was sent back to his unit, they continued to grow closer to each other through letters, the rare phone call, and even rarer visit. Her heart told her that she was falling in love with him. His head told him that it could never happen, because she was an officer and he was an enlisted man and the military frowned on fraternization. Of course, it was her heart that won out, even to figuring out a way that they could be together permanently and the military could not come down on them.

Charlotte knew that her reenlistment was coming up, but she had not signed the papers. Instead, she had asked for and received a three day pass in Tokyo where Russell was going to join her. They spent the first day in their hotel room, while the final hours of her enlistment ran out. The following day, as a civilian, she went with Russell to the American embassy and filled out all the paperwork they needed. Then they quickly went to the local Japanese municipal government office, submitted all the proper forms and paid the appropriate fees, and received their Kon-in Todoke Juri Shomeisho (Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Marriage). Even though it wasn't necessary, right before they were to return to Vietnam, they sought the services of a Shinto priest, who performed a religious service joining the couple in marriage. No questions could be asked by the military, since Charlotte's enlistment officially ran out the day before and she was technically a civilian.

The first thing that Charlotte did upon her return was to sign her reenlistment papers. Then, after she was sworn back in, she told her commanding officer that she had gotten married, and he was an enlisted man. Neither he, nor anyone else in command, appreciated what she had done, but no matter how they fussed and fumed, they could not find any way that they could legally annul it.

What they could do was transfer her, six weeks later. She had to work right up until her flight. It was, in fact, a fourteen hour night shift, and she got off duty late, almost missing her flight home. She had been reassigned Stateside near San Francisco to the Oak Knoll Naval hospital complex that was opened in 1942, serving veterans wounded on the Pacific battlefields. The site covered over 200 acres and contained 90 buildings but most were overgrown WWII-era wooden buildings that were tinderboxes. A modern hi-rise building was scheduled to be opened in 1968 to serve Vietnam vets. But in the meantime, she could continue to work with those shipped home from Vietnam, while she waited for Russell's enlistment to end or he was shipped home.

While most nurses tended to be reluctant to reveal their service in Vietnam, fearing that they would be discriminated against because of antiwar feelings, Charlotte was proud of her service. What she did experience upon her return to the States was sheer frustration. While she was a combat nurse in Vietnam, she was making medical decisions on the wards and assisted with surgical procedures when the surgeons were backed up in the operating room. Now she couldn't hand out an aspirin or start an IV unless a doctor had ordered it. Military protocol, saluting, wearing Class A uniforms, and following the strict chain of command, seemed to be more important than the care of the wounded.

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Russell was also punished for his part in the officer fraternization. Every scut job that came along was assigned to him. While Charlotte was still in Vietnam, he was denied every pass he asked for, and was made to stay in camp. In fact, he didn't even find out that she was transferred back to the States until two days after she had left the country. He debated whether or not he planned to reup when his hitch was over and he returned stateside. It would sure make things easier for Charlotte, but he would have to talk with her before he made a decision like that. So he just endured everything that was dished out to him, making sure that he did nothing to provoke anyone. In a perverse form of reverse psychology, the more abuse that he was placed under, the more he wanted to continue to remain in the Marines, being a thorn in their side just with his presence. He threw himself into his work, making sure that he became the best Huey mechanic in the outfit. Because of his devotion to the job, he found three separate procedures that cut precious time off of the repair methods and that became the new normal way of doing it. Of course, he didn't get any of the credit for it.

He didn't complain. Russell just counted down the days that he had left in country, worried that something would happen to him and he wouldn't go home, at least in one piece. He so wanted to see Charlotte again, but not where she would have to care for him in any professional way. As the days grew shorter, his spirits rose, until finally the big day arrived. He grabbed all the gear that he wanted to take with him, and got ready to go.

As he was leaving, he saw the two guys in his outfit that were the closest thing he had to friends there. He looked at them and said, "Jonesie, Abbot, anything else that I leave here you two can fight over. I just don't need it anymore."

"You sure, Russ?" Abbot asked. "We could leave it all for your replacement."

"You wanna do that, that's fine with me. I just don't want it anymore. I'm going home. All I want is waiting for me when I get there."

And with that, he shouldered his duffel bag, put his travel orders in his pocket, and walked over to transport to begin his long journey home.

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As the military transport was landing at Travis AFB, so many thoughts were going through Russell's mind. Did she still love him, after not seeing or hearing his voice for months. He sent her letters, and she replied, but the words on paper could not convey the feelings and emotions behind them. The last time he held her in his arms was just before they had to board separate planes out of Tokyo back to their units. She said she loved him, but she had all this time without him to change her mind. And he could not blame her one bit if she did.

As the plane came to a stop and the ladder was rolled up to the main door, Russell waited until the others got off. Walking down the ladder, he slowly scanned the people who had been waiting for the passengers to get off, who now embraced their friends and loved ones. Charlotte wasn't there. He somewhat expected that down deep inside. Grabbing his duffel bag, he made his way to the terminal, alone.

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"Corporal Russell Goodman, Corporal Russell Goodman, please report to Colonel Jameson's office," was the announcement he heard when he entered the terminal. He went up to one of the counters and spoke with the WAC that was there.

"I'm Corporal Russell Goodman. I heard the announcement that I am supposed to report to Colonel Jameson's office. Could you please tell me where it is?"

"Over on the west side of the building," she said as she pointed. " The last office on the right. His secretary will be right outside."

Finding his way over to Colonel Jameson's secretary, he announced himself and she buzzed him in.

He marched up to the Colonel's desk, saluted, and asked, "Corporal Russell Goodman. You wanted to see me, Sir?"

"Yes, Corporal. We seem to have a strange situation here that somehow involves you."

"Sir? I don't understand. What situation?"

"There was a young Navy Lieutenant, a Charlotte Johnson, inquiring what time your flight would be coming in and if you were on that flight. She claims to be your wife."

"Yes Sir, she is my wife, we were married in Tokyo about six months ago."

"How can that be, Corporal? You know the rules and penalties the military has about officers fraternizing with enlisted personnel? And you know that she, as an officer, will suffer the greater penalty for what you two have done."

"But she didn't do anything wrong, Sir. She wasn't in the Navy when we got married."

"What do you mean? She was and still is a Naval officer. How could she not be in the Navy when you were married?"

"Her enlistment ran out while she was on leave, Sir. That is when we got married, while she was still technically a civilian. When she reported back to her unit, she signed her reup papers and nobody asked her any questions about her status. So if there is any wrongdoing, you would have to talk to her CO back in DaNang."

"Still, Corporal, you know we just can't just let this go. There has to be some sort of consequences for the two of you, even though you are technically correct. If we let this go, I don't know how many others might try to do the same thing."

"Sir, may I speak freely, off the record?"

Go ahead, I'm anxious to find out how you see this."

"You speak about consequences, Sir. We have already experienced the military's version of consequences. Within six weeks, Charlotte was transferred from DaNang to Oak Knoll Naval hospital here in California. I wasn't allowed to be told of her transfer until she was already gone two days. She told me in her letters that they are keeping her on the same rotation as she worked back in 'Nam. None of the other nurses are working as hard or as long as she is. They say she is just that good with the returning wounded, but I am wondering if her superiors are not just punishing her. She and I have not been allowed to see each other or talk to each other by phone since the wedding. All we have is our letters. I think we have suffered enough, Sir. We followed all of the rules. And we have already been punished."

"Are you quite through, Corporal?"

"Yes, Sir. But Sir, if you are going to punish anyone, punish me and not my wife. I don't want her to have to suffer any more problems in her military career."

"Corporal Goodman, I am going to look into your case, and if I find out that what you said is what actually happened, then you will have nothing to worry about. It will take me two weeks to contact my sources. I will authorize a two week pass for you that you can become reacquainted with your wife. I see in your record that they recomend you be stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina."

"That is where you will be posted if I find out you were lying to me. If you were telling the truth, I am wondering if you would like to be stationed at Camp Pendleton. That's only a little over 400 miles from Oak Knoll. I have a bunch of friends down there who would treat you and your wife decently, if I tell them this story.

"Fill out the transfer request with my secretary, and then go over to room 223 where your wife is waiting for you, go home with her, and enjoy your time off with her. In two weeks you should know where your next duty station will be. That is all Corporal."

"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir." Russell saluted smartly and left the office to comply with the Colonel's order. There was a new spring in his step and his smile stretched from ear to ear as he realized he was going to see Charlotte in just a few moments.


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